After subjecting myself to the horror that was ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ (2017) yesterday I thought I would go to the opposite end of the scale with today's film, ‘Bad Santa’ (2003). From the sickliest of childish films to a potty mouth bonanza. It's hard for me to remember a time where I didn’t know about this film. I feel like it was a film that a lot of people spoke about in High School because it was ‘edgy’ for thirteen-year-olds. And yet I never saw it. I don’t recall ever really having the urge to watch it. But now I have an excuse so I can see what the hype (no idea if this was just in my school) was about. The film follows Willie (Billy Bob Thornton), an alcoholic swindler who, alongside Marcus (Tony Cox), goes to a new mall in a new town each year, disguises himself as a mall Santa, and uses the guise to rob the malls. However, Willie’s whole outlook on life changes one year in Arizona when he builds a relationship with a barmaid called Sue (Lauren Graham) and a loner kid (Brett Kelly).
Right off the bat, I can see why this film was popular when I was in high school, although it may not be for the same reasons that I liked it. The film is not shy in its use of language. There is an f-bomb seemingly very few minutes, alongside most other swear words that exist in the English language. It also is filled with several sex scenes and references to sex, so that gives you an idea of the kind of humour the film is going for. It isn’t going for super witty jokes, being a lot more on the nose with its humour, deriving comedy from how pathetic the majority of the characters in the film are. The film definitely sits in the realm of the black comedy, and I will touch on to why a little later. In technical terms the film is sound. It is shot well and edited well, utilising a classic Hollywood looks. By that, I basically mean that it isn’t the most creative when it comes to its cinematography or shot composition, but it is still well done and works in telling the story as it needs to be told. Because of this, it falls to the actors to make the film memorable, and they all do really well. I enjoyed the performances of Tony Cox and Bernie Mac as Gin. They had fun chemistry and, although their interactions with each other were brief, they were always fun when acting across from one another. The obvious show-stealer is Billy Bob Thornton. He really does come across as a pathetic jerk, but he also does really well in the moments where he needs to show empathy and real emotion. He is the heart and soul of the film and the quality of the film is increased due to his performance.
Although the film does go for a more ‘low brow’ of humour it does it well and I found myself laughing on several occasions. In that regard, the film is a success. It is a comedy that made me laugh, job done. But that was not the most interesting part of the film. That came with the darker, heavier aspects of the narrative. The character of Willie is an alcoholic and the film does not shy away from that fact. The film uses this to get laughs from the audience, with the debauchery and mess that Willie gets himself into due to being drunk can be funny. But there is also a real sadness to it and the film does play into that as well. The film does not shy away from showing how alcohol has taken control of his life in a negative sense, so much so that it makes two references to him wanting to commit suicide. The first time it is mentioned in a voiceover, the second time we see him attempting suicide before he is interrupted. The film doesn’t make this a focus, keeping more as a side piece of the narrative, but it does really add weight to what would otherwise be a bit of crass comedy, and it makes redemption of Willie more emotionally impactful.
‘Bad Santa’ was both exactly what I expected and much more than what I expected. The style of humour is pretty much exactly what I was expecting, but the narrative did have a much heavier side to it which I was not anticipating. And it all works in tandem to create a fun film which can also be a little hard to watch on occasion, and Billy Bob Thornton captures both these aspects of the film brilliantly in his performance. If you haven’t seen it I would say give it a go. Like me, you may just be a little surprised.
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